GSB is the name, fighting entropy is the game
More opinions on business school at Stanford
Somehow the summer has slipped by and a new batch of MBA’s have arrived on campus.
I haven’t published a new piece in seemingly forever, so this seems fitting. Oh, and I’ve also just graduated too.
So a few cursory reflections on the second year of the MBA seem to be in order…
And for the first year students, I’ve written a similar piece here.
Trust the process
If the second law of thermodynamics states that the universe tends toward entropy, then its corollary is that the GSB universe tends toward social conformity.
There’s a tremendous amount of social pressure — both overt and covert — at the GSB, much more so than in other places. And we humans are social creatures, wired to heavily index on surrounding social cues.
And in the face of all that social pressure, stay rooted to what you are pursuing. Continue chasing the things that energize you, spending time with the people that enrich your life. It’s obvious advice, but I think it bears repeating over and over.
One of the most rewarding things in my time at the GSB was spending my entire MBA2 winter break on campus. I traded exotic adventures with my classmates for dedicated time with my family, dynamic travel and exploration for reading AI papers and writing existential essays.
But I couldn't fully silence the small, wriggling doubt worming in my head. Did you come to the GSB to spend your time locked up in your room reading papers?
In retrospect, it was an obvious conclusion.
First of all, I had spent most of my MBA1 year winter break on campus (notice a pattern?). None of the trips piqued my interest, certainly less so than the insane large language model developments that I wanted to spend more time diving deeper into. I just wanted to spend deep time getting myself up to speed on the newest papers and research.
And it was so well worth the time. Hindsight grants clarity.
That time I spent, those papers I read: they laid the foundation for an incredible final six months of my GSB experience.
Professors beyond the classroom
I find it fascinating that people don’t take the time to get to know their professors. Maybe it’s because many people didn’t come to business school to “do school” — I honestly don’t know. Even the most vociferous networkers will spend an inordinate effort to meet every other classmate at the GSB, and for some reason, stop “networking” at the artificial designation of "classmate."
I find this perplexing. Even if you were an expected value-maximizing Machiavellian (which I don’t recommend), it makes sense to get to know your professors. GSB professors are often extremely well-connected to their industry counterparts, and are the first people to know about interesting opportunities.
But that’s beside the point.
Many of the professors at the GSB are world-renowned experts in their respective fields and have a wealth of knowledge and perspective to share. Not only are they leaders in their fields, but they love sharing with eager and curious students. I’ve had so many incredible conversations with professors following an innocuous post-lecture question, many of which have even blossomed into friendships.
Counteract tightening circles
When I was a rising MBA2, the common social advice was to cut down on exploratory socialization and focus all my time with existing friends. I think this advice is only half right.
I recommend a barbell approach: spend time with your closest friends and deepen those relationships, continue meeting and spending time with new people in completely new environments, and cut out all the people and events you don’t enjoy.
For existing friendships, there are structural reasons why things become more difficult during your second year. Off-campus living completely changes the dynamic: the serendipitous conversations from run-ins at JMac or Schwab, and Town Square merely becomes a place to briefly wave hello before having to run back home.
Especially in the fall and winter quarters, people are incredibly busy scrambling through their job hunts, so it's not unusual to go several weeks without seeing a close friend — I was certainly guilty of that. You must make a disciplined and concerted effort to find quality time with close friends, even if it has to be implemented through a recurring calendar invite. It’s just too easy to let great friendships waste away amidst all the chaos.
Even amidst this, I challenge you to continue meeting new people. With the impending close of the school year, the entire class gets more open in the waning quarters. Some of my greatest memories came from chance encounters in my second year.
And don’t forget about the MBA1's! There's an artificial wall between the MBA1's and MBA2's, and you have to put time into breaking it down. Don’t limit yourself to your class — there are incredible people throughout the entire GSB student community.